Police seek two men after Islamic centre vandalised

The vandalism has been branded "pathetic criminal cowardice" by the leader of the local council

Officers are looking for two men believed to have vandalised an Islamic centre by spray-painting a St George's Cross on to its walls.

"This is England" and "Christ is King" were also sprayed onto the South Essex Islamic Trust's building in Vange, near Basildon, on Thursday night.

It was branded "pathetic criminal cowardice" by the leader of Basildon Council, Gavin Callaghan.

Essex Police said two men were seen in the area at the time of the incident, reported at 23:10 BST.

One was described as a white man in his 30s, wearing black trousers and a grey sleeveless Lonsdale jumper.

The other was a tall white man who wore grey shorts, a hoodie and white trainers.

Police have urged anyone with information about the incident to contact them

Labour councillor Callaghan said "the cowards who did this will be caught" and called for "real punishment".

"To do this right before Friday prayers is no coincidence. That's targeted. That's intimidation. And it's criminal," he wrote on Facebook.

"This is not Christian. It's not patriotic. It's not brave. It's just pathetic criminal cowardice."

Saima Rafiq, from the Islamic trust, said she was "disturbed" to see the graffiti, but had been heartened by the community's response.

"These acts are based on perception rather than facts and I think we can work to get the right message out there," she said.

Saima and Husman Rafiq, centre, heaped praise on their local council for supporting them

Her husband, Husman, said his family had lived in the area since 1962.

Mrs Rafiq added: "We're born and bred here, we are British nationals.

"It's a small number of people, a minority that are behaving this way."

Police asked anyone with CCTV or information to contact them.